This invention relates to shields of the type used by students learning to type. More particularly, it relates to shields of the kind which are effective to obscure the keyboard and the cylinder of the typewriter from the student's view while he is typing.
It has become well-known in the methodology for teaching typing to train the student to operate the typewriter without looking at the keys or the copy as it is typed. Rather, the student is taught to look instead at the reference material from which he is typing and, in any event, not to depend upon a visual association of his hands and fingers with the keyboard. In general, this technique of typing is referred to as the "touch typing" system.
Prior to the introduction of the student to touch typing, it is generally believed to be desirable to permit him to familiarize himself with the typewriter, the operation of its keyboard and other parts through visual association. In other words, he is initially permitted to type while looking at the keys and/or copy as it is being typed. This introductory experience, however, is usually of relatively short duration. It then becomes necessary to break the student from the habit of looking at the keys and copy. One way of doing this is simply to instruct the student to look at the source material being transcribed and not to look in the direction of the typewriter. This method has produced less than satisfactory results, however, and many students taught in this way never truly learn touch typing. Consequently, a number of screening devices have been used to provide a visual barrier between the student and the keyboard and the cylinder of the typewriter.
An example of such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,528. The device in question consists of a pair of hingedly connected and vertically adjustable screens supported by a bar which passes vertically in front of the keyboard. The student places his hands on either side of the bar and the screens provide a visual barrier between the student and the typewriter. Other devices have been made for direct and relatively permanent attachment to the typewriter itself. Some devices have been made with base plates to be inserted under the feet of the typewriter for stability.
All of the typewriter shields known to the applicants are relatively bulky and unportable. Generally, they are not compact enough for everyday transporting by the student between his school and home. Moreover, since they are fabricated from relatively expensive materials, often metal, it tends to be too costly to provide each student with his own personal shield. A related disadvantage of the existing shields known to the applicants is that they are generally expensive to repair when the need arises.
There are, in addition, certain shortcomings of existing typewriter shields which are related more directly to their effectiveness as a teaching tool. Some, for example, involve the use of structures relatively close to the student's face and they therefore tend to restrict his peripheral vision. The applicants have found that it is desirable to maintain the student's peripheral vision at a maximum in order to enhance his learning of a motor skill such as typewriting. Still another shortcoming noted generally with existing shields is that many of them, being constructed of metal to produce the degree of strength their design requires, produce vibration noises as the typewriter is operated. This proves to be a distraction to the student and impedes the learning process.
All of the foregoing shortcomings and disadvantages are overcome by the present invention. The present invention has for one of its objects the provision of a simple, easily assembled and economical shield. It is a further object of this invention that the shield be portable so that it can be easily carried with the student's other materials between his school and home. Still another object of this invention is to produce a shield which will be silent in operation so as to avoid any distracting noise while the student is learning.
Still another object of the present invention is to produce a shield which is relatively compact during use with the typewriter so that it does not reduce the student's peripheral vision.
Finally, it is a further object of this invention to produce a shield which can be easily repaired in the event that it should become damaged.